JP2003110926A - Image pickup device and image pickup method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the accuracy of discrimination in an image pickup device for discriminating the kind of an image to be photographed on the basis of photographing conditions while classifying images into a plurality of kinds corresponding to the photographing conditions. SOLUTION: After the kind of an image is discriminated, the change of the photographing conditions is detected and when there is any change in the photographing conditions, the kind of the image is discriminate again. The kind of the image is discriminated again in any one of cases of changing the photographing conditions even a little and changing the photographing conditions over a predetermined range and in any one of time points of continuing the change in the photographing conditions for a prescribed time and changing and stabilizing the photographing conditions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention classifies images into several types in association with shooting conditions such as the condition of a subject and the focal length of a shooting lens, and sets the type of image to be shot as shooting conditions. The present invention relates to an imaging device that makes a determination based on the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Scenes to be photographed are classified into several types, and variable photographing conditions such as a shutter speed and an F number of a photographing lens are set for each scene, depending on the scene designated by a user. A camera that sets shooting conditions and shoots has been put into practical use. For example, in a scene where the subject is stationary and a scene where the subject is playing sports,
The combination of the shutter speed and the F number is different so that the scene in which sports is performed has a higher shutter speed. An image with proper exposure can be obtained when shooting either scene, but if a sports scene is specified, a faster shutter speed is adopted, and the blurring of the subject appearing in the obtained image can be reduced. In this way, if the user specifies the scene and the shooting conditions are set according to the specified scene,
It is easy to obtain the image intended by the user.

In recent years, the camera itself has been made to discriminate the scene to be photographed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-
161174). Many cameras have a function of automatic focus adjustment (AF) that automatically adjusts the focus of the shooting lens to the subject. Using this function, the movement of the subject is detected, and the scene is still. It is possible to determine whether or not the scene is sports.

Further, even in a scene in which the subject is still, is the user trying to take a clear snapshot of both the subject and the background due to the relationship between the distance to the subject and the focal length of the taking lens? It is also possible to determine whether or not a portrait with a blurred background is being photographed, and a camera that performs such determination has been proposed. In this case, the scene, that is, the state of the subject to be photographed is determined from the setting state of the camera. Strictly speaking, the image obtained by photographing is classified into a plurality of types in association with various photographing conditions. Will be determined based on the actual shooting conditions. However, since the discrimination of the image type is often the discrimination of the scene, the expression "discrimination of the scene" is used in the meaning including the discrimination of the image type.

It should be noted that the shooting conditions used for determining the type of image are different from the shooting conditions set according to the determination result, and the former is set by the user. The shooting condition used to determine the image type is, for example, the focal length of the shooting lens, and the shooting condition set according to the determination result is, for example, the shutter speed.

Generally, the determination of the image type by the camera is performed at the end of automatic focus adjustment. The discrimination result is displayed on the display unit provided in the camera, and the user can also confirm the type of the image discriminated by the camera. In this way, if the camera itself determines the type of image,
The user can obtain the intended image more easily.
Even if the user does not have any particular intention, an image appropriately expressed according to the content, such as a portrait with a softly blurred background and a sports photograph without blur, can be obtained.

[0007]

However, in the conventional camera, the type of the image is discriminated only once, and after the discrimination is made once, for example, the start of the automatic focus adjustment is instructed again. Until, it does not discriminate. That is, even if the shooting condition such as the focal length of the shooting lens changes after the type of image is determined, the shooting control is performed based on the determined type of image. For this reason, the type of image at the time of actual shooting may not match the determined type of image, and a situation may occur in which an appropriate image cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup method capable of accurately discriminating the type of an image.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, images are classified into a plurality of types in association with shooting conditions, and the types of images to be shot are based on the shooting conditions. The image capturing apparatus for determining includes a detecting unit that detects an image capturing condition, a determining unit that determines an image type based on the image capturing condition detected by the detecting unit, and a detecting unit that determines the image type after the determining unit determines the image type. It is provided with a discrimination control unit that detects a change in the detected photographing condition and causes the discrimination unit to discriminate the image type again according to the detection result.

In this image pickup apparatus, even after the type of image is discriminated, the type of image can be discriminated again when the photographing conditions change. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly deal with the change in the type of the image due to the change in the photographing condition, and the image pickup apparatus can accurately determine the type of the image.

Here, it is preferable that the discriminating control means causes the discriminating means to discriminate the image type again when the photographing condition changes beyond a predetermined range. This way,
It is possible not to re-determine even with a slight change in the shooting condition, and it is possible to avoid waste of re-determining even when the type of image does not change.

The discriminating control means may cause the discriminating means to discriminate the image type again when the change of the photographing condition continues for a predetermined time or more. In this way, when the change in the shooting conditions is transient and the original shooting conditions are immediately returned to, like when the hand of the user holding the imaging device is shaken,
It is possible to avoid making a distinction.

The discriminating control means may cause the discriminating means to discriminate the image type again when the amount of change in the photographing condition remains within a predetermined amount for a predetermined time. By doing so, it becomes possible to make a determination again when the photographing conditions change and become stable. If the determination is performed while the shooting conditions are changing, the type of image is likely to change further, and the determination result is likely to be meaningless. By re-determining the image type when the shooting conditions are stable, it is possible to reliably make a meaningful determination.

A display means for displaying information indicating the type of image judged by the judging means may be provided. In this way, it is easy for the user to understand how the image pickup apparatus determines the type of image. When the discrimination is made again, the result is displayed so that the user can always know the latest discrimination result.

It is preferable to provide a photographing control means for controlling the operation at the time of photographing the image based on the kind of the image discriminated by the discriminating means. The determined type of image is reflected in the captured image, and an image with an appropriate expression according to the content can be obtained. When the shooting conditions change, you can re-determine the image type,
Even when the type of image changes due to changes in shooting conditions, an appropriate image can be reliably obtained.

Here, the control performed by the photographing control means is at least one of exposure adjustment, flash emission, γ correction, sharpness adjustment, and color correction. All of these are controls that directly affect the quality of the obtained image, and are useful for obtaining an appropriate image according to the type of the image.

The photographing condition detected by the detecting means is at least one of photographing magnification, focal length of photographing lens, movement of subject, luminance of subject, and color balance.
All of these are shooting conditions that are greatly related to the content represented by the image to be shot, and are suitable for use as criteria for determining the type of image. By combining these shooting conditions, the types of images can be finely classified.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides an image pickup method in which images are classified into a plurality of types in association with shooting conditions and the type of image to be shot is determined based on the shooting conditions. , The shooting condition is detected, the image type is determined based on the detected shooting condition, the image type is determined, the change in the shooting condition is detected, and the image type is detected again according to the detection result. Try to determine.

In this image pickup method, even if the image pickup method is once determined, it is possible to redetermine the image type when the image pickup condition changes. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly deal with the change of the image type caused by the change of the image pickup condition. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the type of image.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the digital camera 1 and FIG.
Is schematically shown in the rear view of FIG. The digital camera 1 includes a taking lens 10, a flash unit 11 and a front window 12a of a finder on the front surface, a release button 13 on the upper surface, and a liquid crystal panel 1.
4 and operation keys 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, a large liquid crystal panel 17 on the back, operation keys 18a, 18b,
18c, a rear window 12b of the finder, a recording medium insertion port 19 on the side surface, and an image sensor 20 inside.

The digital camera 1 forms an image of light from a subject to be photographed on the image pickup device 20 by the photographing lens 10,
An image is captured by exposing the image sensor 20 and generating image data representing an image from a signal output from the image sensor 20. The image pickup element 20 is a CCD type element having a large number of pixels arranged two-dimensionally, and outputs a signal representing the accumulated charge by performing photoelectric conversion for each pixel. The output signal of each pixel becomes a signal indicating the amount of light received from each point of the image capturing target, and after digitization, various processes are performed to obtain image data representing the captured image. Red (R) for pixels
A color filter that selectively transmits light, green (G) light, or blue (B) light is provided, and all pixels are classified into three types for R light, G light, and B light. To be done.

The generated image data is recorded on the recording medium M inserted in the insertion slot 19, and the image represented by the image data is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. The process of capturing an image, that is, the exposure of the image sensor 20 to the generation of image data is repeated at a substantially constant cycle, and the image data is recorded on the recording medium M in accordance with an instruction given during that period. Recording medium M
The image represented by the image data is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 even when the image is not recorded in, and thereby a live view is provided. The instruction to record the image data is given by operating the release button 13.

The image data recorded on the recording medium M can be read and the image can be reproduced and displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17. Image shooting and image playback display can be switched by operating the operation key 16a.

The taking lens 10 is a zoom lens having a variable focal length. The focal length of the taking lens 10 is changed to the long focus side by operating the operation key 15a and is changed to the short focus side by operating the operation key 15b.

The taking lens 10 is provided with a diaphragm (not shown) with a variable aperture, and the exposure of the image sensor 20 is performed by adjusting the aperture of the diaphragm and adjusting the photoelectric conversion time of the image sensor 20, that is, the shutter speed. , Controlled. In the digital camera 1, there are three types of exposure control of the image sensor 20, namely, aperture priority control, shutter speed priority control, and program control.

In the aperture priority control, the aperture diameter is set so that the F number is designated by the user, and the shutter speed is adjusted according to the brightness of the object to be photographed. In the shutter speed priority control, the photoelectric conversion time of the image sensor 20 is set so that the shutter speed specified by the user is set, and the aperture diameter is adjusted according to the brightness of the object to be photographed. In program control,
Both the aperture diameter and the photoelectric conversion time of the image sensor are adjusted so that the F number and the shutter speed are predetermined according to the brightness of the object to be photographed. The exposure control is switched and the F number or the shutter speed is designated by operating the operation key 16b. The brightness of the imaging target is obtained from the intensity of the output signal of the image sensor 20.

The digital camera 1 has a function of automatic focus adjustment for automatically focusing the photographing lens 10 on a subject which is a main subject to be photographed. The automatic focus adjustment is performed by obtaining the defocus amount, which is the distance between the subject image and the image sensor 20, by the phase difference detection method, and setting the focus of the taking lens 10 at the position where the defocus amount becomes zero. Note that another method, for example, while detecting the contrast of the image on the image sensor 20, the focus of the photographing lens 10 is changed in a direction in which the contrast of the portion corresponding to the subject is increased, and the focus is gradually adjusted to the subject. Automatic focus adjustment may be performed by a hill climbing servo system.

The release button 13 generates a first signal (referred to as a signal S1) when it is half pressed, and further generates a second signal (referred to as a signal S2) when it is fully pressed. The signal S1 instructs the start of automatic focus adjustment and the detection of the brightness of the photographing target, and the signal S2 instructs the recording of the image data.

The liquid crystal panel 14 displays the setting status of the digital camera 1, operation guidance and the like. Operation keys 18a-18c
Is used for discriminating and designating an image type, which will be described later.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic circuit configuration of the digital camera 1.
Is schematically shown in. The digital camera 1 includes an A / D converter 21, a white balance adjustment unit 22, a γ correction unit 23,
Color interpolation unit 24, color correction unit 25, display image generation unit 26, aperture control / coring unit 27, compression unit 2
8 and a recording unit 29. These control the generation and recording of image data and the display of images.

The A / D converter 21 converts the analog output signal of the image pickup device 20 into a digital signal,
The white balance adjustment unit 22 individually adjusts the levels of the signals of the R, G, and B color components to adjust the white balance. The γ correction unit 23 performs a non-linearization process on the signal so as to be suitable for display, and the color interpolation unit 24 causes R, G, or B to be missing at each pixel position of the image sensor 20.
The signal of the color component of is generated by the interpolation processing. Color correction unit 2
Reference numeral 4 individually adjusts the signal levels of the R, G, and B color components to correct the color of the image after the white balance has been adjusted.

The display image generation unit 26 extracts signals at a predetermined ratio from the entire signals so as to be suitable for the liquid crystal panel 17 having a smaller number of pixels than the image sensor 20, and outputs image data to the liquid crystal panel 17 for display. To generate. The aperture control / coring unit 27 performs edge enhancement / softening processing on the image data to be recorded and adjusts the noise level. The compression unit 28 is a JPE
The image data is compressed according to the G method, and the recording unit 29 controls input / output of the recording medium M. It should be noted that when reproducing and displaying the image, the compression unit 28 reproduces the original image data by performing reverse compression processing on the image data read from the recording medium M by the recording unit 29.

The digital camera 1 includes a control section 30, a lens driving / detecting section 32, and a finder display section 33. The control unit 30 is composed of a CPU and controls the overall operation of the digital camera 1. In addition to the release button 13, the control unit 30 includes keys 15a, 15b, 16a, 16
It is connected to an operation key group 31 including b, 18a to 18c, and controls according to those operations. Lens drive /
The detection unit 32 adjusts the focal length, the focus, and the diaphragm of the taking lens 10 and detects the setting states thereof. The viewfinder display section 33 has a front window 12a of the viewfinder.
And information is displayed in the peripheral portion of the optical image observed through the rear window 12b and the rear window 12b.

The digital camera 1 has a function of discriminating which of a plurality of types the images to be photographed correspond to in advance classified according to the photographing conditions based on the photographing conditions. The types of images are classified in association with not only the scene to be photographed, that is, the state of the subject to be photographed, but also photographing conditions including variable conditions of the digital camera 1 itself.
FIG. 4 shows the correspondence relationship between the classified image types and the shooting conditions used for the discrimination. There are six types of images: "portrait", "sports", "landscape", "sunset", "nightscape", and "snap". In addition, the shooting conditions used to determine the type of image, that is, the shooting conditions associated with the type of image, are the shooting magnification, the focal length of the shooting lens 10, the brightness of the subject, the type of the light source, the moving / static state of the subject. 5 conditions.

It is also possible for the user to specify the type of image, and the user can also judge which of the above six types the image is, and input it to the digital camera 1. That is, the digital camera 1 has an automatic discrimination mode in which the digital camera 1 itself automatically discriminates the image type and a manual designation mode in which the user designates the image type. These modes are operation keys. It is switched by the operation of 18a. Operation key 1 in manual designation mode
The type of image to be designated is switched by the operations of 8b and 18c.

At the time of photographing an image, the control of the operation is changed according to the discriminated or designated image type. This is to provide an image that is appropriately expressed according to the content represented by the image. FIG. 4 also shows the correspondence relationship between the types of images and the controlled contents. What is controlled is
Exposure of the image sensor 20, flash emission by the flash unit 11, γ correction by the γ correction unit 23, image sharpness and noise level by the aperture control / coring unit 27, and color correction by the color correction unit 25.

The discrimination of the image type in the automatic discrimination mode is
This is performed at the end of automatic focus adjustment, that is, at the time when the photographic lens 10 is focused on the subject. Therefore, the image type is determined every time the release button 13 is pressed halfway and the signal S1 is generated. However, in the digital camera 1, even after the type of image is discriminated at the end of automatic focus adjustment, when the photographing condition changes, the type of image is discriminated again according to the change.

As shown in FIG. 3, the digital camera 1
A color balance detection unit 41, a brightness detection unit 42, a focal length detection unit 43, a subject distance detection unit 44, an image type determination unit 45, a condition change determination unit 46, a timer 47, and A threshold setting unit 48 is provided.

The color balance detector 41 detects the color balance of the image on the image pickup device 20 from the output signal of the A / D converter 21. Specifically, the average value of the intensities of all the signals is calculated for each of the R, G, and B color components, and the ratio R / G of the average signal intensity of the R color component to the average signal intensity of the G color component is calculated. , B / G, the ratio of the average signal intensity of the B color component to the average signal intensity of the G color component.

The brightness detecting section 42 includes the A / D converter 21.
The brightness of the subject is detected from the output signal of. The focal length detector 43 detects the focal length of the taking lens 10 from the output of the lens drive / detector 32. Subject distance detection unit 44
Calculates the defocus amount from the output signal of the A / D converter 21, and calculates the defocus amount and the lens drive / detection unit 32.
The distance to the subject is detected from the information indicating the focal position of the taking lens 10 included in the output of 1. In addition, the change in the distance to the subject and the position of the subject image (image sensor 20
The amount of movement of the subject is detected from the change in the portion used to obtain the defocus amount in the above image).

The detection values of the color balance detection unit 41, the brightness detection unit 42 and the focal length detection unit 43 are the same as those of the condition change determination unit 4.
It is given to the image type discrimination unit 45 via 6, and the detection value of the subject distance detection unit 44 is directly given to the image type discrimination unit 45. The image type discriminating unit 45 calculates the photographing magnification from the focal length and the distance to the subject, and calculates the two signal strength ratios R /
The type of the light source is determined from G and B / G, and it is determined which image type the combination of these and five shooting conditions including other detection values corresponds to. The image type discriminated by the image type discriminating unit 45 is given to the control unit 30, and the image pickup device 2
It is used to control the generation of image data by the exposure of 0 and the white balance adjusting unit 22 to the aperture control / coring unit 27. Note that the control unit 30 instructs the image type determination unit 45 to determine the type of image at the end of the automatic focus adjustment.

The condition change judging section 46 gives the detection values given from the color balance detecting section 41, the luminance detecting section 42 and the focal length detecting section 43 to the image type discriminating section 45, and detects the changes in these detected values. . Then, when a change is detected, it is determined whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied, and when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the image type determination unit 45 is instructed to determine the image type. . The detection of the shooting condition by the color balance detection unit 41 to the subject distance detection unit 44 and the detection and determination of the change of the shooting condition by the condition change determination unit 46 are repeatedly performed, during which the condition change determination unit 46 to the image type determination unit 45. Is given a discrimination instruction. The image type determination unit 45 includes a condition change determination unit 46.
Each time a determination instruction is given from, the type of image is determined.

The control unit 30 displays on the liquid crystal panel 17 and the finder display unit 33 the image type determined by the image type determination unit 45 in the automatic determination mode and the image type designated by the user in the manual designation mode. Let Display examples are shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 is an example of the display of the liquid crystal panel 17, and the type of the determined image is displayed by its name together with the live view. In FIG. 5, (a)
When the determined image type is “snap”, (b) is when the determined image type is “sport”. FIG. 6 shows an example of the display on the finder display section 33.
The name of the discriminated image type is displayed in the peripheral portion of the optical image (not shown). In FIGS. 6A and 6B, (a) and (b) are respectively when the determined image types are “portrait” and “landscape”.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of the display of the image type designated by the user. FIG. 7A shows the liquid crystal panel 17, and FIG. 7B shows the display of the finder display section 33. The type of the image designated in the manual designation mode is distinguished from the type of the image discriminated in the automatic discrimination mode by displaying the characters "manual" together with the name.

Although the type of image is indicated by name and the display is switched according to the type of image, another display method can be adopted. For example,
A symbol corresponding to the image type may be displayed, or the names of the six image types may be displayed at the same time, and one of the names may be designated according to the determined or designated image type. You may make it display the pointer.
In addition, a small lamp is provided around the rear window 12b of the viewfinder, and when the manual designation mode is set, the lamp is turned on to clearly indicate the mode and the word "manual" is displayed. Can be omitted.

In the automatic discrimination mode, the digital camera 1 discriminates the kind of the image, but the user can confirm the discrimination result by the display, and the control when photographing the image to be recorded is performed according to the discrimination result. You can decide for yourself whether or not to do it. If the determination result does not match the user's intention, the user switches to the manual designation mode by operating the operation keys 18a, and the operation keys 18b, 18
A desired image type may be designated by operating c.

As described above, the condition change determination unit 46 indicates that the type of image should be determined according to the change in the detected value by the color balance detection unit 41, the brightness detection unit 42 and the focal length detection unit 43. To the image type discriminating unit 45. Here, there are a first method and a second method with respect to the magnitude of change in the detected value which is a reference for whether or not to give a discrimination instruction, and regarding the timing of giving a discrimination instruction, there is a third method and a third method. There are 4 methods.

First method: When there is a change in the detection values of the detection units 41 to 43, a discrimination instruction is given regardless of the magnitude of the change. Second method: When the detection value of each of the detection units 41 to 43 changes in a range divided in advance, a determination instruction is given. Third method: When a change in the detection value of each of the detection units 41 to 43 continues for a predetermined time, a determination instruction is given. Fourth method: When the detection values of the detection units 41 to 43 change and become stable, a determination instruction is given.

The first and second methods and the third and fourth methods can be freely combined. Hereinafter, each method will be specifically described.

<First Method> In this method, the type of image is determined except when the color balance, the subject brightness, and the focal length are all unchanged. Therefore,
The amount of calculation performed by the image type determination unit 45 for determination is large. However, by combining with the third method or the fourth method, it is possible to prevent the image type determination unit 45 from always being in the state of determining the image type.

<Second Method> As shown in FIG. 4, the focal length of the taking lens 10 is "28-50 mm", "50-100", "100-" depending on the type of image.
Three ranges of "300" are set. Regarding the subject brightness, two ranges of "normal" and "dark" are set, but the boundary is set to 1.0 as the Bv value. The color balance corresponds to the type of light source, but the value of the signal intensity ratio R / G of the R color component and the G color component is 1 as the boundary between “daylight” and “indoor light” and “sunset”. It is set to .4. The range of these photographing conditions is shown in FIG.

In the second method, the detected values of the focal length, the subject brightness and the color balance are divided by 1 as described above.
It is determined whether or not one range has changed to another range, and when any of the detected values exceeds the boundary value between the ranges, a determination instruction is given to the image type determination unit 45. Therefore, in this method, the determination result of the image type is likely to change. Further, the amount of calculation of the image type discrimination unit 45 is smaller than that of the first method. Boundary values of focal length, subject brightness, and color balance are stored in the threshold setting unit 48.

<Third Method> In the third method, it is determined whether or not the detected value is still changing when a predetermined time has elapsed since the detected value started to change, and the detected value is When it remains changed, a discrimination instruction is given to the image type discrimination unit 45. The predetermined time is about 0.5 to 2 seconds. This predetermined time is also stored in the threshold setting unit 48. The timer 47 measures the elapsed time.

In this method, even if the detected value changes,
If the original detection value is restored within a predetermined time, the image type is not discriminated. For example, even if the direction of the digital camera 1 changes due to camera shake of the user and the color balance changes temporarily, the determination is not performed. Therefore, if combined with the first method for instructing the determination even if the change in the detected value is slight, the image type is often determined at a predetermined time interval. If combined with the second method of instructing discrimination when the detected value changes beyond the range, even if the detected value changes beyond the range, if the change is temporary, the image type Will not be re-determined.

By thus reducing the number of times the type of image is discriminated, it is possible to prevent frequent changes in the display of the liquid crystal panel 17 and the finder display section 33. A determination instruction is given to the image type determination unit 45 without waiting for a predetermined time from when the detection value starts to change,
Even if the display is updated after a lapse of a predetermined time from the time when the detected value starts to change, the frequent change in the display can be suppressed. However, in such a case, many calculations are performed for useless discrimination, resulting in an increase in power consumption. Therefore, the third method in which the determination itself is not performed within the predetermined time is preferable.

<Fourth Method> In the fourth method, an allowable variation amount is set for each of the detection values of the focal length, the subject brightness, and the color balance, and the variation amount of the detection value remains within the allowable variation amount for a predetermined time. When it is determined that the image is stable, the image type determination unit 45 is given a determination instruction. Even if the type of image is discriminated while the detection value is changing, the type of image is changed after that and the discrimination is often useless, and the fourth method is for avoiding this.

Taking the case where the user changes the angle of view by zooming as an example, even if the focal length of the taking lens 10 does not change, a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) from that point onward.
When the focal length changes within the allowable variation amount (for example, ± 5 mm), the determination instruction is not given. By doing so, it is possible to avoid determining the image type while the size of the shooting target range is changing, including the period of fine adjustment of the focal length at the end of zooming.

The allowable fluctuation amount is shown in FIG. 9 by taking the focal length as an example. The allowable variation amount A is different from the range of the second method and smaller than the range of the second method. The allowable variation amount is set for each shooting condition, but may be a constant value or a variable value. When the value is variable, it may be a ratio to the detected value, such as 5% of the detected value, or may be set for each range of the second method.

The flow of processing relating to image type discrimination in the digital camera 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart. FIG. 10 is a flowchart in the case of combining the first method and the third method. When the automatic discrimination mode is set, first, the photographing conditions (color balance (R / G, B / G), subject brightness and focal length) of the color balance detection unit 41, the luminance detection unit 42 and the focal length detection unit 43 are set. The detection is started (step # 5). Next, the presence or absence of the signal S1 is determined, and if the signal S1 is not present, the release button 13 is half-depressed to wait until the signal S1 is generated (# 10).

When the signal S1 is present, the distance to the object is measured (defocus amount is detected) by the phase difference detection method (# 15), and it is determined whether or not the measurement is possible (# 20). When the contrast is low and the measurement cannot be performed, a message to that effect is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 and the finder display section 33 (# 25), and the signal S1 is awaited (# 30). Release button 13 is released and signal S1
When the error disappears, the indication that the measurement could not be performed is stopped (#
35), the display indicating the type of image is also stopped (# 40), and the process returns to step # 10. Note that image capture and live view display have been started before this mode was set,
Live view display continues.

When the distance can be measured, the focus of the taking lens 10 is adjusted so as to match the subject (# 4
5) When the subject is in focus, the fact is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 and the finder display section 33 (# 50). Then, the image type determination unit 45 performs an image type determination calculation (# 55), and the determined image type is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 17 and the finder display unit 33 (# 60).

Then, for the third method, the change time, which is the time from when the detected value starts to change, is reset to 0.
Then (# 100), it is determined whether or not the detection values of the color balance, subject brightness, and focal length by the color balance detection unit 41, the brightness detection unit 42, and the focal length detection unit 43 have changed (# 105).

If none of the detected values has changed in step # 105, the presence or absence of the signal S1 is determined (#
110), if there is no signal S1, the display indicating that the subject is in focus is stopped (# 115), the display of the image type is stopped (# 120), and the process returns to step # 10. If the signal S1 is present, the presence or absence of the signal S2 is determined (# 1
25), if there is no signal S2, the process returns to step # 105.

When the release button 13 is fully pressed, the signal S
2 is generated, from the exposure of the image sensor 20,
The S2 on process is performed (# 130), in which the A / D converter 21 to the recording unit 29 generate image data and record the image data on the recording medium M (# 130), and the process returns to step # 10. In the S2 ON processing of step # 130, the processing from the exposure to the generation of the image data is controlled according to the determined image type.

If any of the detected values has changed in the determination of step # 105, the change time is calculated (# 13).
5). The change time is calculated from the output thereof by starting the timer 47 in step # 100. Then
It is determined whether the change time is a predetermined time or longer (# 14
0), if the change time is less than the predetermined time, step # 10
Returning to step 5, if the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the process returns to step # 15.

In this process, first, automatic focus adjustment (# 4
The image type determination (# 55) is performed when 5) is performed, and the image type determination (# 55) is also performed when the detected values such as color balance and focal length change thereafter. .
The determination when the detected value changes is made by the third method only when the change continues for a predetermined time (# 140). Further, when the detection value changes and the type of image is determined, automatic focus adjustment (# 45) is also performed, and the automatic focus adjustment here corresponds to so-called continuous AF. Note that it is possible not to perform automatic focus adjustment once the subject is in focus. In that case,
The return destination from step # 140 may be step # 55 instead of step # 15.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart in the case of combining the second method and the fourth method. Step # 5
The process up to # 60 is the same as that in FIG. 10, and the duplicated description will be omitted. At the end of automatic focusing, determine the image type (#
55), after displaying the determined image type (# 60),
For the second method, the range of values of color balance, subject brightness, and focal length is set (# 200). Then, the detected values of the color balance, the subject brightness, and the focal length by the color balance detection unit 41, the luminance detection unit 42, and the focal length detection unit 43 change, and the range belonging to the time of the determination in step # 55 changes to another range. It is determined whether or not it has come to belong to (# 205).

When the range to which the detection value belongs has not changed, it is determined whether or not the signal S1 is present (# 210). If there is no signal S1, the display indicating that the subject is in focus is stopped (# 215). ), Stop displaying the image type (# 22
0), and returns to step # 10. If the signal S1 is present, it is determined whether or not the signal S2 is present (# 225). If the signal S2 is not present, the process returns to step # 205.

When the release button 13 is fully pressed, the signal S
2 is generated, from the exposure of the image sensor 20,
The S2 ON process is performed (# 230), in which image data is generated by the A / D converter 21 to the recording unit 29 and recorded on the recording medium M (# 230), and the process returns to step # 10. In the S2 ON processing of step # 230, the processing from the exposure to the generation of the image data is controlled according to the determined image type.

If it is determined in step # 205 that the range to which any of the detected values belongs has changed, the allowable variation amounts for color balance, subject brightness, and focal length are set for the fourth method (# 235), the non-change time, which is the time during which the change amount of the detected value remains within the allowable change amount, is reset to 0 (# 240).

Next, the non-change time is calculated (# 24).
5). The non-change time is the timer 47 in step # 240.
Start and calculate from the output. Then, it is determined whether or not the non-change time is longer than or equal to a predetermined time (# 250), and if it is longer than or equal to the predetermined time, the process returns to step # 15. When the non-change time is less than the predetermined time, it is determined whether or not the range to which the detected values of the color balance, the subject brightness, and the focal length belong to has changed from the range to which the determination value in step # 55 belongs (# 255). ), If not, go to step # 210. If the range to which any of the detected values belongs has changed, it is determined whether or not the amount of change in each detected value from the time of step # 205 is less than or equal to the allowable variation set in step # 235 ( # 26
0), if the change amount of any detected value exceeds the allowable variation amount, the process returns to step # 235, and if the change amount of any detected value is less than the allowable variation amount, the process returns to step # 245.

In this process, first, automatic focus adjustment (# 4
The image type determination (# 55) is performed when 5) is performed, and the image type determination (# 55) is also performed when the detected values such as color balance and focal length change thereafter. .
The determination when the detected value changes is made by the second method when the range to which the detected value belongs changes (# 205, # 25).
5) And when the detected value becomes stable by the fourth method (# 250, # 260). Automatic focus adjustment here is also equivalent to continuous AF, but step #
The return destination from 250 may be set to step # 55 instead of step # 15 so that automatic focus adjustment is not performed once the subject is in focus.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the types of images, the shooting conditions used for determining the image types, the specific numerical values of the shooting conditions, etc. shown here are merely examples, and other values may be used. It is also possible to set it. If the image types are classified more finely, the image types are likely to change due to changes in the shooting conditions. Therefore, the finer the image type classification is, the more the image types are discriminated according to the changes in the shooting conditions. Increased usefulness.

[0074]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION Detecting means for detecting photographing conditions, judging means for judging the kind of image based on the photographing condition detected by the detecting means, and detecting means after the judging means judges the kind of image. In the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, which includes a discrimination control unit that detects the change in the captured condition and causes the discriminating unit to discriminate the image type again according to the detection result, the imaging condition is determined even after the image type is discriminated. Since it is possible to re-determine when the change occurs, it is possible to flexibly deal with the change of the image type due to the change of the photographing condition, and it is possible to accurately determine the image type.

If the discriminating control means causes the discriminating means to discriminate the image type again when the photographing condition changes beyond the predetermined range, there is no need to re-discriminate until the image type does not change. Can be avoided.

If the discriminating control means causes the discriminating means to discriminate the image type again when the change of the photographing condition continues for a predetermined time or more, the change of the photographing condition is transient and the original photographing condition is immediately changed. It becomes possible to avoid making a distinction when returning to.

If the discriminating control means causes the discriminating means to discriminate the type of image again when the amount of change in the photographing condition stays within the predetermined amount for the predetermined time, when the photographing condition is changing greatly. It is possible to avoid a wasteful process of discriminating the type of image and surely perform meaningful discrimination.

In the structure provided with the display means for displaying the information indicating the type of the image discriminated by the discriminating means, the user can easily understand how the image pickup apparatus discriminates the type of the image.

In the structure provided with the photographing control means for controlling the operation at the time of photographing the image based on the kind of the image discriminated by the discriminating means, the discrimination result is reflected on the image to be photographed, and is appropriate according to the contents. An image with various expressions can be obtained. Even if the type of image changes due to a change in shooting conditions, a proper image can be surely obtained by performing the determination again.

If the control performed by the photographing control means is at least one of exposure adjustment, flash emission, γ correction, sharpness adjustment, and color correction, it is easy to obtain an image suitable for the type of image. is there.

When the photographing condition detected by the detecting means is at least one of the photographing magnification, the focal length of the photographing lens, the movement of the subject, the luminance of the subject, and the color balance, the type of the image can be accurately discriminated. it can. Also,
By combining these shooting conditions, it is possible to finely classify the types of images.

The photographing condition is detected, the type of the image is discriminated based on the detected photographing condition, the type of the image is discriminated, the change of the photographing condition is detected, and the type of the image is detected according to the detection result. In the imaging method of the present invention in which the determination is made again, even if the determination is once performed, the type of the image can be determined again when the shooting condition changes, so that it is possible to flexibly cope with the change in the type of the image. It is possible to accurately determine the type of image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of the digital camera.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating classification of image types in the digital camera, shooting conditions used to determine the image types, and control performed according to the image types.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a discriminated image type in the digital camera.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of display of the determined image type in the digital camera.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of display of a designated image type in the digital camera.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a range used for determining a change in shooting conditions in the digital camera.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an allowable variation amount used for determining stability of shooting conditions in the digital camera.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing relating to image type determination in the digital camera.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another flow of processing relating to the determination of the type of image in the digital camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 digital camera 10 Shooting lens 11 Flash section 12a, 12b finder window 13 Release button 14 LCD panel 15a, 15b operation keys 16a, 16b operation keys 17 LCD panel 18a, 18b, 18c operation keys 19 Recording medium insertion slot 20 Image sensor 21 A / D converter 22 White balance adjustment section 23 γ correction unit 24-color interpolator 25 color correction section 26 Display Image Generation Unit 27 Aperture control / coring section 28 Compressor 29 Recording section 30 control unit 31 Operation keys 32 Lens drive / detection unit 33 Finder display 41 Color balance detector 42 Luminance detector 43 Focal length detector 44 Subject distance detector 45 Image type discrimination unit 46 Condition change determination unit 47 timer 48 Threshold setting section

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03B 15/00 G03B 15/00 U 15/03 15/03 H 15/05 15/05 H04N 5/225 H04N 5/225 A 9/64 9/64 R // H04N 101: 00 101: 00 F term (reference) 2H002 AB01 AB03 AB04 FB01 FB03 FB21 FB22 FB28 FB32 FB36 FB38 GA00 GA13 GA14 GA15 GA16 GA19 GA20 GA21 GA22 GA26 GA27 GA28 JA07 2H053 AA00 AA01 AB01 AB03 CA41 DA03 5C022 AA13 AB01 AB15 AB22 AB66 AC03 AC12 AC18 AC69 5C066 AA01 CA21 EA05 EA11 EC02 EC12 GA01 KD06

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus for classifying an image into a plurality of types in association with a shooting condition and discriminating the type of image to be shot based on the shooting condition; A discriminating means for discriminating the image type based on the photographing condition detected by the means; and after the discriminating means discriminates the image type, the detecting means detects a change in the photographing condition, An image pickup apparatus comprising: a determination control unit that causes the determination unit to determine the image type again. 2. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discriminating control unit causes the discriminating unit to discriminate the type of the image again when the photographing condition changes beyond a predetermined range. 3. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discrimination control means causes the discrimination means to discriminate the image type again when the change of the photographing condition continues for a predetermined time or more. . 4. The discrimination control means causes the discrimination means to discriminate the image type again when the amount of change in the photographing condition remains within a predetermined amount for a predetermined time. The imaging device according to. 5. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays information indicating the type of image determined by the determination unit. 6. The photographing control means for controlling the operation at the time of photographing an image based on the type of the image discriminated by the discrimination means. The imaging device according to. 7. The control performed by the photographing control means is exposure adjustment,
7. At least one of flash emission, γ correction, sharpness adjustment, and color correction.
The imaging device according to. 8. The photographing condition detected by the detecting means is at least one of a photographing magnification, a focal length of a photographing lens, a movement of a subject, a luminance of a subject, and a color balance. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 7. 9. An imaging method for classifying an image into a plurality of types in association with a shooting condition and determining the type of image to be shot based on the shooting condition, detecting the shooting condition, and detecting the detected shooting condition. An image pickup method characterized in that the type of an image is discriminated based on a condition, the type of the image is discriminated, the change in the photographing condition is detected, and the type of the image is discriminated again according to the detection result.